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 Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 6:44 pm
Slapping her mother across the face after the terrible woman tried to tear her down and then declaring she was moving out at the end of the month should've felt like a victory. She actually stood up to that unruly woman! She finally defended herself! She was now going to be an individual!
But it didn't feel that way.
In fact, Jinxi felt as if she had severed all chances with living. Jizabel, her mother, did literally everything for her besides the few chores the bespectacled shut-in would take on while her parent worked. Now, she had to take on those herself; which meant cleaning, cooking, bills... All of those were the dreaded word: Responsibility. Jinxi felt she wasn't ready.
So she tried to drown herself in a large serving of sickeningly sweet iced coffee. She wasn't even a fan of the sugary delight, but if it could rid her of her frustrations, it was great in her book. Unfortunately, she just couldn't; her mind kept straying back to the matter at hand to the point she couldn't take it anymore.
Jinxi flung her arms up in frustration as she trotted away from the coffee shop. However, much to her chagrin, the coffee's lid flipped off, and the contents of her emotional outlet... splashed onto the person behind her.
"O-oh crap, oh gosh, oh know, I-I-I'm so sorry!" she cried, flailing her arms about. "D-did it ruin anything? Are you okay?!"
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 7:03 pm
Tom had been walking about outside, going to go to the park and read for a bit. He would have brought his soccer gear with him, but when he read he tended to get stuck in the book and sometimes it took a miracle to break his concentration on the book he was currently reading. He had still brought his backpack along with him though to keep the book and other things inside and to use as a bench pillow if need be.
So currently he was out and about in no particular hurry to go anywhere and just walking along at his own pace. Sure there were some people in front of him who seemed to be going a bit slowly, but that was okay. It was when you were trying to rush to class and it was always one group who would refuse to move that were the most annoying obstacles would take up the whole sidewalk.
But that all changed in a moment when suddenly liquid came out from the person in front of him in an all out attack! Tom blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out what had happened. Liquid. The liquid was coming at him. And now he felt wet… Oh, something had spilled on him. He looked down to see some brown spots on his clothes now and a bit on his head. Well, it could probably be removed. If any had landed on his hat though it probably wouldn’t show if it left a stain. Black was nice that way. Suddenly he heard someone talking to him and looked up to see it was a girl in a bit of a panic.
He realized that she was talking to him and must be apologizing. He smiled at her a little before saying, “It’s all right. It should come right out and if it doesn’t I can still use the clothes for something else.” Pajamas sounded okay for a stained shirt use. “I’m sure it was an accident.” No point in being angry about it anyway. He was sure she wanted that coffee too considering how much there was of it and wouldn’t have spilled it on purpose.
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 7:15 pm
Despite his easygoing attitude regarding the matter, Tom was met with the same inordinate reaction of flailing limbs from Jinxi. It felt as if her head was on the chopping block, her HP hit zero, she was walking the gangplank... In other words, her reaction radiated distress for an inability to right her wrong.
"I— No— But you're all sticky and gross from the coffee andandand..." She sighed, staring down at the polka dots of her dress. "At least let me apologize somehow... Like, um, b-buy you a coffee? Oh wait, no, that's probably a bad idea... I mean, like, you're wearing mine..." She frowned. "Oh, or least let me help you clean up! Were you headed somewhere? Wouldn't want to go looking like, uh, how you are now."
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Posted: Tue Jun 21, 2016 7:29 pm
Tom looked at the girl, surprise in his eyes as she continued to panic. He wondered what was going in her life that would cause her to panic about such a non-issue such as this. He wondered what he could do to calm her down.
“Well, I don’t drink coffee anyway but if you really feel like you need to you can help me clean up, but I was just heading to the park to read a bit. We can just get some paper towels and some water and just get my arms at least. I think the rest could come out with a good washing and if it doesn’t they can still be used.”
He wasn’t sure if she would feel less guilty unless she could help. Some people felt obligated and he couldn’t go and leave this girl feeling bad about something that was just an accident. “Really though, if it becomes too much trouble don’t worry about it. I’m not mad at all.”
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Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 2:40 pm
Jinxi's arms dangled at her sides at the offer. "T-then let's get there. As quickly as possible. Gotta go fast." She ushered him with a midair push, urgency in her tone. "Y-you shouldn't have to stay like that, gotta get clean, yep."
They were whisked off to the park in the midst of her anxiety-ridden throes, Jinxi hastily looking around for the public bathroom. All the while, something weighed in her mind; why in the world wasn't he mad? Wasn't there a reason to be? She splashed coffee on him. In the midst of her frustrations. She was to blame!
Eventually, both of these dilemmas collided within her mind and she turned to Tom with a look of confused determination. In as steady a voice she could manage, Jinxi asked, "H-how aren't you mad? I-I don't get it. I spilled coffee on you. It made a mess. Do you take yoga? Is that the secret... to not-madness?"
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Posted: Mon Jun 27, 2016 3:03 pm
Tom was surprised at being pushed a bit towards his destination, but went with it, figuring that it might help the girl calm down a bit. Though he was again surprised when she looked at him and asked him how he wasn’t mad. “I don’t know there’s just… no point in getting mad you know? I’m not hard up on money and even a stained uniform can still be used for other purposes. Also I wouldn’t be wearing something incredibly nice that could possibly get dirty going to the park, in case something happened. So I just don’t see the need to get angry over it. And you didn’t do it on purpose. If you did I then I might be annoyed about it.”
He had more of the same shirt/uniform back at his apartment. And if it was a custom design, more expensive shirt that he had gotten, well, accidents happen right? He had gotten used to it with two cats that loved to knock over expensive things and rip some of his clothes on accident when he forgot to trim their claws for a while. Combined with a little brother who always wanted to use his stuff… he had just gotten used to it at this point. That didn’t mean he always reacted like this. He definitely got annoyed when he was interrupted draining a target, which always seemed to happen.
“I’ve just gotten used to it at this point and would rather use my energy doing other things like playing soccer.”
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 8:43 am
"Huh..." Jinxi breathed, not quite sure how to take his response. She just thought it was a natural; flying off the handle when mistakes were made. That's what her mother taught her, at least. So to have the predicament approached in such a mature manner was completely alien, almost to the point Jinxi was shaken.
Were people actually this cordial? Or was it all just an act?
Her lips became a thin line across her face as she pushed up her glasses. "W-well, I guess I understand. Kinda. Maybe. That's, like, a mature way to look at things. Adultish. Not something I'd understand, but I might? Like, I just moved into a new apartment and I'm gonna start living by myself soon, so I don't really know what to do. All's I have is a microwave and it takes, like, a full five minutes to heat up a cup of water. So you can imagine, like, a TV dinner taking forever and..." Suddenly, Jinxi words slowed to a stop and she grimaced. "Oh, crap. sorry, I didn't mean to go off like that," she said. "You have something to do here right? Read? Then you gotta get clean. Right. I said that before..."
Then she sidestepped once, then twice, and raced off to the bathroom when she spotted it, returning with an armful of paper towels soon after.
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Posted: Wed Jun 29, 2016 7:19 pm
Tom was about to say something but the girl ran off before he could, leaving him with his mouth open for a bit. He then sighed a bit and shook his head. He hadn’t known how young she was, probably still just a teen and probably the type who got nervous talking to people. And she was just now living by herself. It wasn’t a surprise then that she was so anxious and upset. He thought he might get her a microwave but it could be one of those that came with the apartment and so couldn’t be replaced and another microwave would take up too much room…
He barely registered when she came back with some paper towels, and jumped a bit when he returned to reality. He adjusted his hat on his head a bit before talking to her again. “It’s all right, moving into a new place can be very stressful. It’s the same if you’re in the same city or if you move halfway across the country, being by yourself for the first time is scary.” He smiled a bit at her before taking a water bottle out of one of the side pockets in his backpack.
Hopefully wetting the towels a bit would help in getting the stain out, or at least most of it to where it wouldn’t be totally dependent on a washing machine. “Thanks for the paper towels.” He said while taking a few and getting them wet. Sure, it might be a bit embarrassing to try and clean it off out here, but everyone got stuff spilled on them at some point in their lives, so it really shouldn’t be of any note to any nosy strangers.
He decided to talk to her about her apartment, hoping it would relieve some of her stress. “I hope you have other stuff in your apartment besides just a microwave. A working refrigerator is a basic appliance that all apartments should have.”
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:27 pm
"Oh, y-yea, sure!" Jinxi said, prepared to hand over more, or well, all if Tom needed them. However, when she realized just standing there wasn't the best image, she went along and started to dab and re-dab at areas Tom might've missed or cleaned already. Juuust to ensure that her mess was cleaned thoroughly and he wouldn't go looking for her head later.
Hopefully.
Amidst her cleaning, she blinked, and then shook her head. "N-no, I don't have anything like that. The, um, microwave was the only thing my mom would part with. I keep my foodstuff in my neighbor, Geraldine's, freezer. I just moved in and it's me, the microwave, a mattress thrown on the floor and all of my cryptid books. It's... roomy... but cozy! Definitely cozy."
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 7:48 pm
Tom had to hold back a smile as the girl tried to help him with cleaning up the spots. They did seem to be coming out though, so that was a plus. “Thanks for the help. I think the stains are starting to disappear already.” He tried to reassure her, though he figured that she probably wouldn’t be satisfied with what he said, she would need to do it on her own.
Only a microwave and storing food inside a neighbor’s apartment? He mentally winced at the image. He wondered if she was just that poor or if she lived on the wrong side of town to where even appliances might be broken just to steal stuff. Then he thought of an idea.
“How about this, to make it up to me, how about we go shopping for all the basic things an apartment needs and I’ll pay for it.” Before he would let her start fretting over it he held up his hand. “I have plenty of money to where I can easily afford all of that stuff. Just tell me where you want to go and you can pick out what you want based on what YOU want and not just the prices, okay? Then I’ll feel satisfied about you spilling your coffee on me.” He did have enough money, or at least he could ask for some more from his parents. They would easily give him some more if they knew he had spend it trying to help someone in distress out.
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Posted: Sun Jul 10, 2016 8:07 pm
Jinxi stiffened; the balled napkin in her hand falling from her tense fingers and bouncing down lightly at her heel. Suddenly, she began to look around to see if there were any cameras hidden anywhere; if some man might jump out from behind a tree or some kid playing in the park would toss confetti on her and cry, "You've been caught on candid camera!"
"Oh, oh man, um..." she began, bending down to pick up the napkin and then stopping midway. Straightening her back, she forced a smile, and said jokingly, "Man, um, i-if I knew spilling coffee on you would amount to this, I should do it again. Have you buy me a house, ahaha..." Unfortunately, the smile slipped from her face as she said, "I, um, it's very kind of you, b-but I couldn't. I just can't. A-at least let me pay for half of it. Or some of it. Or just... one item is enough. I just can't accept... all of that, ahaha... I mean, they've already given me all I could ask for." She touched a hand to her bosom and sighed, the pulsing Chaos energy within her a radiating piece of strength. "So I can't ask for more, even material things."
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2016 5:31 am
Well, at least I tried. Tom thought to himself as the girl mostly declined his offer. Well, it would be kind of surprising getting that kind of offer out of the blue. He couldn’t blame her for declining it. Though he did wonder what she meant by “they’ve already given me all I could ask for”. Was she in some sort of cult?
“Well, we can go buy one item if you’re comfortable with that.” He contemplated giving her his number. If she was in some sort of cult he certainly didn’t want to be dragged into it. Well… might give it a chance anyway. He searched in his bag a bit before dining a piece of paper he could write on and gave her his number. “Well, if you need some help with anything, there’s my number. Though I’m in class a lot so it can be hard to reach me sometimes.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:26 pm
Like anything she took from another person, Jinxi barely pinched the edge of the piece of paper forefinger and thumb and took it from him. She turned the sliver over and back twice before her lips drew to a small O.
She nearly informed him she also didn't own a cell phone or a data plan, but the worry that he might offer her to buy something like that rose concern within her. Instead, she dipped her chin twice.
"O-okay," she said, her voice sounding noticeably small. How she would go about building up the strength to even call him bothered her before she even did it. "I-if I'm in need of anything, I'll give you a ring. W-whenever I can. S-should I give you mine?"
Geraldine's number might work, she thought.
"If you want it too, I mean..."
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:35 pm
The girl really did have some anxiety problems it seemed. He would have said something about it, but didn’t want to pry too much into the girl’s personal problems. He might be doing too much even now so he didn’t want to stress her out even more.
“Sure if you want. And don’t worry about calling me up or if I don’t answer right away. Doesn’t mean I’m mad at someone, just that the phone has to be off for some reason like I’m in class or something.”
The spots seemed to be drying now, the summer weather making it clear up faster than usual. There were still some faint spots but they should come out with a good wash then. “Honestly, thank you for helping me get this stuff off, I’m sure if you didn’t it probably would have been harder to get the stains out.”
His watch let out a beep as he realized what time it was. Unfortunately he had spent too much time trying to get the stains out that he only had a few minutes to get to class. The teacher was a bit lax on lateness, but Tom still liked to get there on time. “Oh I’m sorry, it looks like I need to get to class pretty soon. Oh right! I forgot to give you my name, I’m Tom.”
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Posted: Mon Jul 11, 2016 6:42 pm
"Oh, uh, uhhh..." Jinxi began to search around for something to write down her neighbor's number on; she was almost inclined to even write on the back of the paper he had given her with his number. Instead, she folded up one of the napkins she still had in her hand and messily scribbled the cluster of numbers on it. Unfortunately, they were barely legible from the shaking of her hands and her own messy penmanship.
Before she had a chance to yet again apologize for whatever she did or didn't do, she hooted in surprise from the beep of his watch, and her eyes widened. "Ah, ah, then... Y-you should go!" She shooed him away innocently. "And, um, y-you're welcome, Tom. I'm Jinxi, Jinxi Carmen. Thank you, um, as well... For the offer, I mean."
SSBrosB Feel free to end with your next post. c:
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